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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Hero Build: Crystal Maiden (Position 5 - Hard Support)

I was looking on the dota2gamepedia, and I didn't really like the way the item suggestions for Crystal Maiden (CM) were laid out. Here's my take on Crystal Maiden support, which allows you to roam or lane, and has a few early points in her mana-regen aura, to support the rest of your team.

You want an early Teleport Scroll (TP) to save teammates if they get tower-dived, or to counter-gank

I made two sections of Luxury items, because in some games, if you're doing your warding/de-warding and other support duties, you aren't going to EVER have gold for the bigger items. Instead of saving for something you'll never get, go for a low-luxury item.

Some builds advocate a Gauntlet instead of three Branches, to free up inventory space, or to get a very early Urn. However, given that you're going to want a Wand anyway, I would always prefer three Branches over a Gauntlet, for the extra stats. IMO, if you really need the inventory space, skip one of the Branches.

Ability Build:

L1 - Frostbite

L2 - Crystal Nova

L3 - Arcane Aura

L4 - Crystal Nova

L5 - Arcane Aura (you ARE a support, after all)

L6 - Blizzard (yes, at L6 - it's better now)

L7 - Crystal Nova

L8 - Crystal Nova (maxed)

L9 - Frostbite

L10 - Frostbite

L11 - Blizzard

L12 - Frostbite (maxed)

L13 - Arcane Aura

L14 - Arcane Aura (maxed)

L15 - Stats

L16 - Blizzard

L17+ Stats

Notes:

Versus Blink-carries, level Frostbite over Nova.

For Level-1 teamfights, Nova is better than Frostbite because of the AOE and attack slow.

Crystal Maiden is awesome in teamfights if there's no one to interrupt her ultimate. She is similar to Witch Doctor in this respect, although unfortunately she's less tanky.

Good Combos with Maiden:

Strength carries with small mana pools and good early nukes (Sven, WK, Tiny, etc)